Left, the project in my workshop, after ten months of spare-time hobby work - and right, the prototype (a photo from 1968, by Juhani Katajisto) The coloring of my model is close to what the original was in 1923 - all these locos were later painted in duller colors...

The prototype "Vr1" class locomotive was designed and built in Finland in 1913, and a slightly modified series was produced in the 1920s - my model is of the latter series, recognized by the slanting top of the water tank.

This locomotive type was very popular with the crews, thanks to its easy handling. They named it "The Chicken"...

I started working on this model in late August 2003, and ran it on steam the first time on June 16, 2004!

Below is a table of contents - just click on the desired page, it will open in a new window. If you want to read the "story" in chronological order, read the construction pages in reverse order - i.e. start with the oldest! To get back to this page, close the new window that appeared when you clicked one of the page links below.